The MuscleCast

Have you looked around your gym at the “regulars” lately? If you do I think you will find some very interesting things jump out at you. People who have been coming in for months are still using the same weight, the same terrible form and have the same awful work ethic they had when they first started.

One reason I love bodybuilding is that you compete against yourself. Every single trip to the gym is about doing better than the last time. It is about having the right work ethic to get the job done. Today I discuss this in MuscleCast Episode 3.

What drives you when you are at the gym? Are you pushing yourself harder each and every time? If not it is time to work on your work ethic.

I clearly lost focus during and after my divorce. I was on a roll and just lost it all. Now I am back and have regained a renewed focus and passion for getting to my goals. I know some of you reading this probably laugh at me because I have tried and failed several other times. You have no reason to believe me when I say this is the time for me. Just watch and you will see that my work ethic is going to carry me forward to the finish line this time.

Listen to the podcast below

Hi and welcome to Episode 2 of the Expose Podcast. I am Michael Mahony and I will be your host today as we discuss some of the hot bodybuilding topics of the day.

The NPC Nationals were held on November 21 and 22 in Miami, Florida. While there was some debate about the strength of the field, it was rather exciting in the end. There were 62 men and women who earned their IFBB pro cards at this event.

The overall winner of the men's bodybuilding section was Alexis Rivera-Roton. He looked amazing. Awesome symmetry in his physique.

Logan Franklin was the overall winner of the men's physique division.

Samantha Smitchko was the overall winner of the women's figure division.

The overall winner in the bikini division was Laurin Conlin. While to me she looks a little too muscular for bikini and would be better suited to figure, she brought a complete package to the stage to pick up the win.

Now I would like to discuss something that I think all of you can help with. We need more coverage of bodybuilding events. I know that mainstream television won't pick these contests up, but ESPN would be one place where this would work. I suggest we all write in and ask them to begin covering at least the finals of these events. This is the only way the sport as a whole is going to be popular.

Thanks for listening to the podcast. I will look forward to coming at you again next time!

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Welcome to the second episode of the MuscleCast video podcast. In this episode I discuss the reasons that people might want to enter physique competitions. The first thing we need to clarify is what I am talking about. Many people hear “bodybuilding competition” and immediately shy away (especially women) because they are afraid to “get too big.” When I say “physique competition” I am referring to women's divisions such as bodybuilding, figure, physique and bikini, and men's divisions such as bodybuilding and physique. Why would anyone want to compete?

When I entered my first competition it was to give myself a great reason to lose a lot of weight. I told everyone I knew that I was going up on stage fat or in shape. It was a motivator to get into shape and there was a hard cut off date for that happening. Maybe this would help you?

Others just like to get into and stay in shape. Competitions will do that for you. In addition you meet some very amazing people. Some of the nicest people I know are part of this industry.

Be warned that this is not for whiners and complainers. Bodybuilding preparation requires some major focus. There is a tiny bit of suffering. You will cut your carbs low for at least 12 weeks. You will train with massive intensity. You will do whatever it takes to get the fat off your body. It will mess with your energy, make you extremely tired and fog up your brain. These are all reasons why a whiner need not do this type of thing.

I found it a very rewarding and eye opening experience. I will warn you that you will be faced with a choice to take drugs or not. In my opinion, that's your personal decision. I would not look down on you for deciding to take the drugs. It gives you an edge you just might need.

Listen to Expose Podcast #1: Let's Talk About IIFYM

Today our topic is IIFYM — If It Fits Your Macros. What is IIFYM? IIFYM is an eating strategy designed to keep you in your best possible shape year round. It has recently gained in popularity among physique competitors who don't want to constantly live on a restrictive diet plan. While IIFYM has some major names backing it there are also many in the industry who are picking it apart. Let's have a look at this and see what we conclude about IIFYM.

As I did my research for this episode I came across a lot of things I know do not define IIFYM, yet they attempt to do so over and over. It is definitely a heated topic and one that probably will be for quite some time. This approach requires a change in thinking and so many people are not ready to change their thinking, especially when it comes to their way of eating.

On one side of this discussion is the clean eating crowd. This group claims you need to focus on what you eat and to some extent, how much of it you eat. They claim their way works because the food they eat is “clean” and that by watching their caloric intake they are able to take the fat off and keep it off. The clean eating crowd looks at IIFYM and claims it is about how much you eat with no regard to food quality.

On the other side of this discussion is the IIFYM crowd. They claim you need to pay attention to calories and macronutrient ratios and the rest will follow. To them it is more important to hit your macros than pretty much anything else. They see the clean crowd as being far too restrictive. In fact, it seems they believe most people will fall off the wagon with the clean crowd's approach because it is too restrictive. To me, the best term to fit this is “flexible dieting.”

So what really is the story with IIFYM? Basically it isn't much different from the clean eating crowd at all. It is a way of counting calories because it actually tracks your macronutrients which translates directly into calories. Confused by that? Don't be! One gram of protein or one gram of carbohydrates is 4 calories. One gram of fat is 9 calories. Thus, via the macronutrients, IIFYM counts your calories automatically. You might now be wondering where the controversy is. If both crowds seemingly believe the same thing where is the problem?

The part of IIFYM that throws people for a loop involves what they say you can eat. The IIFYM crowd says that as long as you hit your macronutrient numbers every day what you eat to get there won't affect your body composition in a negative way. Thus, you could get your protein from 99% lean turkey or you could get it from fatty ground beef, as long as you hit your protein macronutrient target it won't matter. The question on everyone's mind should now be “Does this really work?”

The short answer is that it definitely works. But why does it work? When you are trying to lose weight and/or fat the calories you take in must be less than the calories you put out. In the strictest sense, while trying to lose weight and/or fat, a calorie is a calorie. The source of the calorie truly is irrelevant. However, in terms of body composition, macronutrients begin to matter a great deal. You will need to take in an ample amount of protein to maintain muscle. You will need an ample amount of carbohydrates to maintain training intensity. The right amount of healthy fats plays a huge role in hormone synthesis. It is at this point that we can understand why tracking your macronutrients is the key.

If you hit your macronutrient numbers you are going to hit your calorie goal as well. It is just that simple. So the clean eating crowd is completely wrong, right? You can eat whatever you want and as long as you hit your macronutrient numbers you're going to lose weight, right? We just said that, didn't we? Well hold on just a second because I am about to throw you a curve ball.

Eating junk food to get shredded is idiotic. The food we put into our bodies provides us with many vitamins and minerals that assist the physiological functions of the body itself. Candy and junk food are very deficient when it comes to micronutrients. These are essential to a healthy functioning body. So, this is where the clean eating crowd has it right. Health is more important than how you look. I will now suggest that merging the mindset of the two crowds is the correct answer in the long run.

I would like to suggest that you can implement the principles of IIFYM in the following manner and be very happy in the end with your results from both an aesthetic and health standpoint.

Get 80% of your calories from a healthy source that you actually like. By “healthy” I mean micronutrient dense. This addresses one problem people have when trying to stick to the clean eating group's approach–they get tired of chicken and vegetables all the time and one taste of something savory sends them off the wagon. If you want steak instead of chicken, merely adjust for the fat content. If you want whole fat Greek yogurt, adjust the other fats you intake that day.

Don't be afraid to eat some small indulgences. As long as those indulgences work into your macros for the day you will not derail your progress. You want some chocolate? That's great! Just fit it into your macronutrient numbers for the day and all is good.

Adjust your meal timing if necessary. So many people love food that is calorie dense. If that is you, don't be afraid to eat less meals. Your body won't slow its metabolism down by eating 3 meals instead of 5. I personally prefer smaller, more frequent meals, but that's me. Follow the Experiment of One when it comes to this and you are going to be just fine.

Like everything else in physique transformation, the Experiment of One is an essential tool. Don't try to force the approach of others to fit your own needs. It just isn't going to happen. Your body will tell you (or perhaps show you) what works best for it. Follow along and you will have great success.

Hopefully I have taken away some of the confusion surrounding this debate. Simply put, focus on your health before all other things. Don't use IIFYM as an excuse to eat horrible junk food non-stop. At the same time, use the flexibility built in to eat something savory every so often. It will keep you on track.

Thanks for your time and I look forward to the next episode of Expose Podcast.

Welcome to Musclecast Episode #1. This episode is all about regaining focus. Sometimes life throws us a curve ball and we fall off the wagon. The important thing is to pick ourselves back up and get to work regaining focus. It can be difficult unless you do it consciously. To me regaining focus means some planning. Everything I do seems to involve planning.

Regaining focus means realizing that you have to keep it simple. You shouldn't try new things while trying to regain lost focus. Instead, focus on what you know has always worked for you. It is the best way to make some progress and making progress will help you to keep your focus. Listen to the video to find out more.